Hello Again Damian Wayne
by MelasZepheos
Summary: 'Damian stood up, wondering where exactly the world had gone. Only a moment before it had been filled with men, and fire, and swords.' and now there's an old friend waiting to see him.


Damian stood up, wondering where exactly the world had gone. Only a moment before it had been filled with men, and fire, and swords.

Had something happened with the sword? He couldn't clear his head to think. There was fog, around him and in him. In his head.

"Who's doing this?" He shouted. "Freeze? Joker?" He paused, no response. "Mother?" It would be just like her. To spirit him away from his father for one of her little chats. Not that those chats had much effect anymore. Once he realised she would never kill him it was harder for her words to hurt. The insanity of suggesting that any of the al Ghul bloodline would be so crass as to murder their own offspring…

No answer came from the all encompassing white that surrounded him. And that worried him. Mother always did like to gloat.

"If anyone there?" His voice didn't crack from fear. He was far too bold for that. But it might have wavered, just a little, at the thought that Grayson might not be here with him. If anything had happened to Grayson he would be hurt. Just a little of course, but still. It wasn't like he would be sad if Grayson died, but he had been a fine partner and a good man and...

There was movement now, he was sure of it.

Damian twisted left and right, trying to catch a glimpse of who was coming. They didn't seem to be hiding though, it was that he couldn't see them clearly. He squinted and strained his eyes and the blurry shape resolved. Two arms, two legs, a torso in the middle. Long blonde hair fell around a head, but he couldn't make out the face.

"Damian?" Whoever it was sounded shocked to see him.

"Who are you?" He raised his fists, wondering why it hurt his chest to do so, "I warn you, I won't be an easy prey."

"You haven't changed," there was an easy air to the speaker, like she knew him. Like he should have known her. But there was nothing, no flash of recognition in the part of his brain that dealt with voices. If they had met before, she had somehow managed to erase herself from his mind.

"What have you done to me?"

She might have been coming closer, or just more into focus. "I haven't done anything Boy Blunder," she knew he was Robin, but the costume made that clear enough. There was something about the familiarity that still bothered him though, like deja vu from a dream he didn't even know he'd had. "You can only get here if..." she trailed off, and he heard in the silence how shocked she was once more.

"Oh Dami."

No one had ever called him that. Who was this woman who was so recognisable yet unknown? "Who are you?" There was no disguising the uncertainty in his voice.

"You don't remember me?" He thought he could make out a smile, wry and yet full of mischief. "Well I suppose that's how it works actually. I don't really know. There's so many of us in here and I didn't even know some of them when I arrived."

Something in the way she spoke connected to a much more primal instinct of fear. "Where is here?" He asked, backing away, yet not seeming to move, "where are we?"

The girl, for he now realised she was younger than he had first thought, shrugged, "I don't really know. Y'see it's all kind of blurry. I was fighting Leviathan, and then I wasn't really doing anything, then suddenly I went to sleep, opened my eyes and I was here."

"Leviathan?" He shook his head, "I knew everyone in the fight against Leviathan, you weren't there."

"But I was, and then I wasn't," she seemed to find that funny, and her laugh was the very definition of infectious. He lowered his hands, but kept himself alert.

"And now I'm here."

"Sure." She sat, patting the ground next to her, "but I don't think you're the same. Some people come here and then they come back. I think I did once, but that's all a bit blurry too. I think you might have to go back."

"How?"

"Well you can't make yourself go back," he could make out more of her features now, and it was maddening how he could almost place her face, even as he knew he had never seen it before. "You'll go back when you're called." She cocked her head to the side, "you aren't going to sit?"

"I'm not tired. I'll wait until I leave."

"Oh you could be standing for a while then. I think I've been here a year, maybe even longer. Time's kind of flexible here, it doesn't move the same as out there."

"A whole year?" He folded his arms, "what do you do?"

"Whatever I want really. Sometimes I remember the good old days, sometimes I pretend I'm on really dark gritty adventures. Sometimes I just sit all day and watch tv and eat waffles."

Waffles. There was something about waffles, something important.

"Do you like waffles?" It could have been an innocent question, but he heard something more in her voice.

"No."

"Have you ever tried waffles?"

"No," he frowned, "yes. Maybe. I can't remember."

"And you can't remember me." She stood up again, "well if you're not going to sit then you could at least walk." Her face was almost fully in focus now. A big smile, soft eyes. She might be pretty, if she was more in focus and less smiley.

"Where are we walking?"

"You'd walk with someone you don't know?"

That caught him out. He had been about to trust this total stranger for no reason, and he never did that. Raising his hands again he backed away. "Who are you?" He demanded, "really?"

"Really?" She seemed to find the question funny. She cocked her hip and put hers hands to her waist. "Depends who you ask. I'm a walking spoiler to most people, I'm a painful reminder to others. I'm the reason things go wrong and get poisoned. I'm toxic."

For the first time the cheeriness dropped from her voice and her bitterness was clear. He felt the urge to say something, and his lips formed an insult before he could even think it, "oh stop whining fatgirl."

Her face jumped into sharp relief, a wide smile and eyes that glittered with fun, "I'm Pollyanna," she said, starting to bounce as though she was on a trampoline, "I'm Batgirl. I'm hopeful." She bounced forwards suddenly and landed right in front of him. "I'm Stephanie. It's nice to meet you again Damian Wayne."

He should have knocked her unconscious. He should have snapped her neck. He certainly shouldn't have dropped his guard and folded his arms again. "I don't like you," he announced. "Where are you taking me?"

She put a hand on his elbow and steered him deeper into the mist, and suddenly it didn't seem all that oppressive. "Well first I have to reeducate you on the value of waffles, and then I bet I have to remind you about moonbounces."

"What's a moonbounce?"

"Argh!" There was laughter in her voice and he almost cracked a thin smile. "This is going to take ages!" She shouted to no one in particular, "I might just have to reteach you how to be a little boy again!"

And for some reason, that seemed like a perfect thing to do.


End file.
